My rating: 4 of 5 stars
An Albanian born, American author, Besa Kosova has quoted about money as:
“Money can't buy happiness, but it certainly is a stress reliever.”
Certainly for 40-something, Ann Barons, "money" was a stress-reliever, but was not an object for gaining happiness in her life. But for Ann Barons "money" acted as a cushion to all her problems and sadness. In Susan Kietzman, an American author's, debut novel, The Good Life, the author has put the limelight on the having a good life with or without money and material possessions, where, Ann Barons, her protagonist is put on a position where she has to choose between money and love.
Synopsis:
Ann Barons has everything- a wealthy and good-looking husband, Mike, two teenagers, Nate and Lauren, who can literally take care of themselves without involving Ann, a 24*7 house help, a million dollar house in the upscale location of the town. And among Ann's many talents, Ann loved redecorating her million dollar house most of the time by hiring some celebrity decorators and throwing charity events and charity dinners at her home and loved wasting her time and body by working out. She was a work-out freak, even at 40-something age, Ann had an unbelievable figure of size 2. It definitely sounds like Ann had indeed a good life, until her Alzheimer-stricken father and mother comes to live with the Barons. Everything falls apart for Ann. Ann's mother; Eileen takes over the control of Ann's very own kitchen to winning away the hearts of Ann's kids in an instant with her talent of cooking exotic and mouth-watering dishes. Ann was beginning to feel left out from the small cocoon of happiness that was starting to bloom in the very core of her house. To drown her sorrows, Ann started drinking and made herself more shut out from her very own family. But will Ann be successful in getting back the life she is most fond of? Will Eileen be successful in getting some sense into Ann's head?
Frankly speaking, from the very moment, I started reading the book, the pace was very slow, but once, I was down to 150 pages, I felt myself revolving along with Ann among her posh-ness and wealth and feeling sorry for Ann's pleasures. It is quite evident that too much money makes you a lonely person and there was no doubt that Ann was a sorry, lonely woman who forgot to enjoy and feel proud about her children's joy and success, forgot to compliment her own mother, and most above all, she became self-centered and self-obsessed with herself. Eileen is the perfect mother, who tried to bring some control in Ann's messed up household, and tried to feed up good food to her grand children. A very mesmerizing and thoroughly heart-touching family story that helps to instill the family values like praying before dinner, complimenting one-another, caring for one-another, spending time with one-another, etc. It's a must read for all those, who have forgot to look back to your parents for whom you have become what you're today!
The characters have enough depth to pull you into the story. The narration and flow of the story was quite strikingly penned by the author. And the author has unfolded her story with love, pleasure and warmth, and you can almost feel the warmth in author's carefully chosen words.
Verdict: So folks grab this book to feel the love about those who matter the most in your life.
Courtesy: I'd like to thank the author, Susan Kietzman, immensely for giving me this opportunity to read and review her debut book.
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Author Info:
Although The Good Life is Susan Kietzman’s first novel, she has been writing fiction for years, fitting it in and around raising her children, working various jobs, and enjoying life. When her boys were young, she wrote early in the morning. And she still does, although she allows more time for fiction now that the boys are mostly elsewhere. She graduated from Connecticut College with a B.A. in English and from Boston University with an M.S. in journalism. She has written for magazines, newspapers, and corporate websites, and taught English composition as an adjunct instructor at two community colleges. When she is not writing at home, she is writing grant proposals for Mystic Seaport Museum. And when she is not writing she enjoys the outdoors, mostly by hiking, biking, and walking, and reading in her living room in front of a fire.
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